China revised its import procedures for a range of batteries, the country’s customs authority said in a Sept. 7 notice, according to an unofficial translation. The changes, which take effect Oct. 1, will “optimize the quality and safety inspection and supervision methods” for 22 subheadings of batteries, China said, by allowing traders to issue self-declarations for the safety regulations required for battery imports. If traders do not choose to self-declare, China said it will continue to adopt its “current inspection and supervision method.” The batteries range from button-type, to those with various weights of mercury or alkaline zinc, or with vanadium, or possessing certain voltage.
More companies are seeking drawback payments as the economic slowdown has increased the importance of cash on hand, CBP officials and industry executives said during the American Association of Exporters and Importers virtual conference Aug. 20. “In general, I would say COVID's had a major impact on our businesses and it's also made our company even more focused on getting cash in the door,” said Kathleen Palma, senior executive for international trade compliance at GE. “One of the levers that our leadership has been looking at has been drawback.” At the same time, Palma expects that because the company is bringing in fewer shipments, that will be reflected in fewer drawback claims going forward.
Vietnam recently imposed antidumping duties on “biaxially oriented polypropylene film products” originating in China, Malaysia and Thailand, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said July 27. The film, typically used in “packaging materials,” will be subject to a duty rate of 9.05% to 23.71% for five years. The products are classified under two Harmonized System subheadings -- 3920.20.10 and 3920.20.91. The decision came after Vietnam determined that the “sales volume, profit margins, market share and production capacity” of its domestic film producers had “declined significantly over recent years” due to cheaper imports from the three countries. Vietnam is, however, offering duty exemptions for imports of the film because some of its producers “lack the capacity” to manufacture it.
Some new provisions within the USMCA seem to make claims of U.S. goods returned under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9801 for U.S. origin goods much less important than was the case under NAFTA. Kevin Riddell, director-trade and regulatory compliance at Tremco Group in Canada, highlighted the changes, which allow for USMCA claims on U.S. origin goods, in a recent LinkedIn post. While Riddell said he hadn't tried to enter U.S. goods under the new USMCA provisions, a CBP spokesperson confirmed that “a USMCA claim may be made on goods of U.S. origin, provided it satisfies its applicable rule of origin and all other requirements of the Agreement have been met.”
Because the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was in such a hurry on implementation, some USMCA details needed by traders are either wrong or missing. For instance, there are tariff numbers that are invalid, because negotiators used the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers. On a call with trade professionals July 6, CBP staffers said importers or exporters can email CBP with a tariff number in question, and the agency can provide guidance on how to claim USMCA treatment for those goods.
The International Dairy Foods Association told the chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that it believes Canada is already violating the annex on tariff rate quotas in the USMCA. The dairy trade group, which sent a letter to Ambassador Gregg Doud on June 30, says that USMCA prohibits TRQs from having conditions or eligibility requirements beyond those already in the Canadian Tariff Schedule -- and that Canada is doing just that.
The Census Bureau recently released its mid-year update to Schedule B, with changes taking effect July 1. New Schedule B numbers are created to break out boneless meat of bison (0201.30.6010) from other boneless bovine meat (0201.30.6090), with old Schedule B number 0201.30.6000 for all fresh or chilled, unprocessed, boneless bovine meat now obsolete. New Schedule B number 2711.12.0010 is also being created for liquefied propane with a minimum purity of 90 liquid volume percent, with other liquefied propane now classifiable under Schedule B number 2711.12.0020. Schedule B number 2711.12.0000 for all liquefied propane is also obsolete. The changes mirror those in the International Trade Commission’s upcoming mid-year update to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, though most of the upcoming HTS changes are not mirrored in Schedule B.
Importers may want to delay filing for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement reconciliation because the USMCA currently doesn't allow for post-entry refunds of merchandise processing fees, CBP officials said during a National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones webinar on June 16. Maya Kamar, CBP director for textiles and trade agreements, said that although the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is working with Congress for a legislative fix to the issue, CBP doesn't yet have clarity on whether such a bill will pass (see 2006050034).
The government is considering how quickly it can get through a legislative fix to U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implementation provisions that allow for duty refunds on post-importation preference claims, but not a refund of merchandise processing fees, said Maya Kumar, director of textiles and trade agreements at CBP. She said on May 22 that CBP officials “do not think that was the intent of the law.” Kumar, who was speaking at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones virtual conference, said that if it's at all possible, CBP would like to see that fixed by Congress before USMCA's entry into force July 1. “We’re trying to work with [the office of the U.S. Trade Representative] as well as Congress and see how quickly they can do that,” she said.
The U.K.’s Department for International Trade released its Most Favored Nation tariff regime, which will replace the European Union’s Common External Tariff after the Brexit transition period ends, the U.K. said May 19. The regime, the U.K. Global Tariff (UKGT), will be “simpler” and “easier” to use than the EU’s system, the U.K. said, adding that it will “scrap red tape and other unnecessary barriers to trade.” The UKGT will simplify nearly 6,000 tariff lines and eliminate “thousands of unnecessary tariff variations on products” by abandoning the EU’s “complex” Meursing table, the U.K. said. Other changes include “scrapping unnecessary tariff variations, rounding tariffs down to standardised percentages, and getting rid of all ‘nuisance tariffs’ (those below 2%).”